I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mechanism for supplying water to and refilling the portable storage supply of mobile plumbing systems as in boats and vehicles commonly known as recreational vehicles.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of known means for providing water within a mobile unit such as a marine or other recreational vehicle. For example, when the mobile unit is secured at a mooring or parking place, a direct connection can be made to the common water supply of a municipality or other external source. Additionally, it is known to provide a storage tank in the mobile unit for storing water to be used when a connection to the external water supply is not available.
While automatic systems are utilized in stationary plumbing installations such as in homes and commercial businesses, there has been no known successful system to provide a demand source and automatic refill apparatus which operates safely and adequately in small mobile vehicles such as pleasure boats and recreational vehicles which have so recently become an American way of life. To begin with, some such known systems utilize pressurized systems whereas the types of systems to which this invention typically relates generally utilizes nonpressurized storage tanks, the water pressure being supplied by a pump.
The known prior art utilizes a hand operated valve at the connection to the external water supply which supplies water directly to the plumbing system at the pressure of the external supply. The portable storage tank on the mobile unit is isolated from the external supply by a one-directional flow check valve which prevents flow into the storage tank from the external supply source. Typically, the mobile water storage tank in this type of arrangement is not designed to withstand municipal water pressures and exposure to such a pressure may rupture the tank. To refill the water storage tank, a separate capped opening is used as an inlet and the refill operation is manual. When the external water supply is not used, the one-way check valve is opened and water is supplied to the plumbing system from the storage tank through a pump which provides the desired pressure. Additional disadvantages of this type of system is that the tank must be located for access to permit refill. Often, such access is extremely cramped making such refilling operation a difficult chore at best. Also, unless an additional remote readout mechanism is provided, it is difficult to ascertain when the storage tank needs refilling. Even during the refilling operation as described, without some type of remote readout as to the existing water level, it is very difficult to ascertain when the tank is full without some type of overflow which by itself is not desired. Thus, there is a need in this particular art for an improved arrangement for supplying water to mobile systems when attached to an external water supply which at the same time provides automatic refill of the portable storage tank. Such a need of course requires fulfilling within reasonable economic arrangements.